Autism East Midlands

What Autism East Midlands does

Autism East Midlands (AEM) is a UK-registered charity founded in 1968 that delivers a comprehensive range of autism-specific care, support, and educational services across the East Midlands region, serving autistic children, adults, their families, and corporate clients. The organization operates two principal service divisions. Adult services encompass seven registered residential homes (locations in Nottingham, Worksop, Bolsover, Derbyshire, and Retford), five flexible day-service hubs, an employment support programme anchored by a Training, Employment and Social Enterprise Centre in Worksop, a respite service, and a social autism space. Child services include the specialist Sutherland House School (Nottingham and Braithwell sites), family support hubs, parent workshops, and Neurohubs. A third pillar offers corporate autism awareness training and accredited training courses, and the wholly-owned social enterprise ACE Popcorn provides structured employment for autistic individuals.

The underlying delivery model is staff-intensive rather than technology-driven: services are delivered by specialist practitioners across a portfolio of physical sites, with no disclosed proprietary technology platform, API, or AI capability. The organization's competitive positioning rests on 55+ years of accumulated regional reputation, deep autism-specific expertise, and embedded referral relationships within local authority commissioning structures.

AEM is a registered charity (Charity Number 517954) and a company limited by guarantee (Company Number 2053860), domiciled in England with headquarters in Creswell, Worksop, Nottinghamshire. The business model is a hybrid of public-sector commissioning (local authority fees for residential placements, day services, and SEND schooling), charitable donations, and earned income from corporate training and the ACE Popcorn social enterprise. No pricing is publicly disclosed, consistent with charity-sector commissioning practices. With approximately 150 employees, the organization is mid-sized for a UK specialist autism provider and is governed autonomously with no parent company or institutional backing disclosed.

Name

Autism East Midlands

Legal name

Autism East Midlands

Website

https://aem.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Autism East Midlands is a UK charity founded in 1968 providing autism-specific residential care, day services, employment support, specialist schooling, and training across the East Midlands for autistic children, adults, families, and corporate clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Autism and Disability Support Services

NAICS

Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities (62321), Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)

akta.pro primary industry

Autism-Specific Schools & Programs (EDAKAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Autism Parent/Caregiver Education & Training (School-Linked) (EDAKAKAJ), Autism Early Intervention (Educational) (EDAKAKAB), Autism (ASD) Support Childcare (HSAAAIAA)

Keywords

• Autism support services
• Residential care
• Special education
• Day services
• Disability employment support

Headquarters

HQ city

Creswell

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Autism East Midlands provides a wide range of care, support, and educational services for autistic individuals of all ages and their families across the East Midlands region. Its core offering spans residential accommodation, employment and day support, respite, social spaces, specialist schooling, family support, and autism awareness training for corporates and the public.

Product overview

Autism East Midlands provides a comprehensive portfolio of autism care and support services as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The organization operates across two main service divisions: Adult Services (including accommodation, employment, flexible day services, respite, and social spaces) and Child Services (including Sutherland House School, family support hubs, parent workshops, and Neurohubs). Additionally, the organization offers Corporate Training and Training Courses for external organizations, and operates ACE Popcorn as a social enterprise providing employment opportunities for autistic individuals. The services are provided across multiple physical locations in the East Midlands region of England.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sutherland House School: Specialist autism school for children, operating at Nottingham and Braithwell locations.
• ACE Popcorn

Products and services

• Accommodation Services

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Autism AllianceminorOthersAutism East Midlands is listed as a member of the Autism Alliance, a network of autism organizations that provides peer support, shares best practices, and collaborates on autism advocacy efforts across the UK.
• Restraint Reduction NetworkminorOthersAutism East Midlands is a member of the Restraint Reduction Network, demonstrating commitment to reducing restrictive practices in care settings and adhering to best practice standards in supporting autistic individuals.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lifeways: UK provider of supported living, residential care, and day services for people with learning disabilities and autism. Directly comparable operating model to AEM's adult services division.
• Ambitious about Autism: UK charity running specialist autism schools (TreeHouse, Ambitious College) and youth programmes. Comparable to AEM's Sutherland House School and child services division, with a similar lifespan education-to-adult mission.
• MacIntyre: UK charity providing residential care, day services, and supported living for people with learning disabilities and autism. Comparable in operating model — multi-site residential and day services with workforce-heavy delivery.
• Avenues Group: UK social care provider offering supported living, residential, and community services for people with autism, learning disabilities, and mental health needs. Directly comparable in service mix and operating geography.
• Autism Initiatives: UK charity providing residential, day, and community support services for autistic people across multiple regions. Directly comparable to AEM's adult accommodation and day services portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• National Autistic Society: The UK's largest autism charity, providing schools, adult services, employment programmes, training, and advocacy nationwide. Directly comparable to AEM in mission and service mix, but operates at national scale with broader funding and policy influence.
• Dimensions UK: UK social care charity providing personalised support for people with learning disabilities and autism, including residential and community services. Comparable in operational model and beneficiary group.
• United Response: UK charity providing supported living, residential care, and personal assistance for people with learning disabilities and autism. Comparable service portfolio at broader national scale than AEM.
• Hft (Home Farm Trust): Major UK charity supporting people with learning disabilities, including autism, through residential and community services. Comparable in adult care delivery model with broader learning-disability remit than AEM.
• Sense: UK disability charity supporting people with complex disabilities including autism, through residential, day, and community services. Comparable in multi-service disability support delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/autismeastmidlands
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/autism-east-midlands

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Autism East Midlands